Awkward Falls and Family
by SubtleBubbles
Summary: In which Leonardo is feeling down following an injury during an unfortunate spar on what should have been a special day. But he comes to realize that his family will always be there to pick him up when he falls. (Oneshot) Lots of fluff and injured!Leo to satisfy your needs:]


**A/N: Here I am trying to study for my exams and this plotbunny literally attacked me as I was walking to class. I did however, have a lot of fun writing this, enjoy!**

Raphael's attack had forced him to go against his better instincts and throw out a hand to catch himself. He landed at an awkward angle and instantly knew something had happened but the fall itself had hardly fazed the turtle. The adrenaline rushed through his veins to let him leap up again and attack with renewed vigor- but he quickly started favoring his left side.

It took a single well-placed hit from the head of Raphael's sai in exactly the same place to send him to one knee with a cry. He dropped a sword and rolled out of the way as Raphael came at him again-"Wait!" his hand immediately went to his right shoulder with a grimace.

"Leo!" Donatello leapt up even before Splinter called the halt and quickly knelt at Leonardo's side. The turtle had squeezed his eyes shut and was breathing shallowly.

"_Shit_! Oh jeez Leo I'm so sorry-" Raphael was anxiously trying to get in front of his brother.

"Back off Raph! Give him a second," Donatello said coolly, "Mikey grab him some Gatorade. Raph _seriously_, stretch so you don't cramp up and so I can see what's going on." He put a hand on Leo's shell to let him know he was there, "I need you to sit up for me bro." At some point in his orders he had switched over to their native Japanese where he knew his older brother would feel more at ease.

"What happened Leonardo?" Splinter was careful to not jostle him as he helped his son sit up so Donatello could examine the injury.

"Felt something shift when I fell." Leo's voice shook despite himself. He still didn't open his eyes, unable to take a full breath without sending shockwaves of pain up his shoulder.

Donatello inhaled sharply as he caught sight of the unnatural ridge over Leo's right collarbone. "Don't move your arm."

"Not trying to," he gasped out.

"It looks like a fracture sensei," Donatello said quietly, pointing out the area of trauma to his father, who nodded seriously. "Leo I think you broke your collarbone."

"What?" Leonardo's eyes snapped open in alarm, glazed with pain.

"This is going to hurt- but I need to feel around the area." Donatello could feel his brother shuddering as his body struggled to deal with the injury.

"Do what you have to do."

Donatello painstakingly pushed down several inches from the bump he'd seen and red hot bolts of pain shot through Leo's shoulder. He couldn't hold back a groan as Michelangelo reentered the dojo with several bottles of Gatorade.

Meanwhile Raphael was sitting motionless in the middle of the dojo. "Hey- you look like someone scratched your bike." Michelangelo joked, tossing his brother a bottle.

Raphael snatched it out of the air and scowled, "Shut up numbskull. Don thinks I might have broken his collarbone."

"He said nothing of the sort," Splinter said sharply, looking over at his sons. "This was unfortunate- but it was no fault of yours Raphael."

"_Great_ timing though," Mikey grinned as his brother swiped at him. They both looked over as Donatello stood and slowly helped Leo up.

"What's going on?" Mikey asked quickly, while Raphael continued to mope and stare at the ground.

"We're going to use the x-ray just to confirm and make sure it's not something else. There's a lot of swelling." Donatello hoped it would work- he'd spent weeks calibrating the ancient machine just for this kind of situation.

"_Crap_," Leo whispered, floundering with his good arm in an attempt to grab something for support as the world swayed.

"Take it easy bro." Donatello sensed his breathing becoming irregular and nodded in thanks to Splinter as the rat got a firmer grasp on Leo.

"Donatello did you not bring an old wheelchair from the surface a few weeks ago?"

"Right!" Donatello lit up, "Can someone grab it? It should be in the lab."

Raphael got up without a word and left to retrieve the item. The adrenaline from before was now almost gone, Leonardo had broken into a cold sweat and Donatello suspected he might be going into shock.

"Relax your breathing my son," Splinter placed a calming hand on the turtle's head.

"Mmmh." Leo shook his head almost imperceptibly and squeezed his eyes shut once more.

"Leo have I told you about the latest Marvel movies?" Michelangelo started suddenly.

The eldest turtle frowned in confusion and cracked an eye open, "What?" he rasped.

"There's like four new trailers out dude, and let me tell you-" Michelangelo launched into a detailed description of each one as Donatello helped the turtle sip at Gatorade.

True to form, Michelangelo's determined rambling was enough to distract Leonardo just a little from the pain in his shoulder. But he noticed when they rolled in the wheelchair.

"My legs work fine." he frowned at them indignantly. The others glanced at each other.

"Dude, can you even make it outta here?" Michelangelo asked.

Leo took a step, then another. He was halfway to the door before a crippling spell of dizziness hit him and he pitched forward. Every member of the family tried to grab him at once and failed spectacularly, colliding with one another and jostling him enough that bright lights flashed in his vision. He swallowed hard as his stomach lurched in response to the pain that was radiating not only down his arm but across his chest as well.

"Fine," he hissed between clenched teeth, not wanting to open his mouth any more than necessary.

* * *

"Well the good news is that your collarbone is in fact intact," Donatello brandished the x-ray.

"Great." Leo was too drained from the ordeal to manage more.

"So what the hell is that there?" Raphael blurted, motioning to the bump over Leo's clavicle.

"You have a separated shoulder."

"What the heck is that?" Michelangelo cocked his head, "Sounds a lot worse if you ask me."

Donatello rolled his eyes as Raphael smacked the youngest Hamato over the head.

"Hey! Admit it-"

"My sons, please allow Donatello to explain." Splinter ordered.

"As I was saying," Donatello continued, "Your clavicles are attached to your shoulder by several ligaments that let you rotate your shoulder and cross your arm over your chest. You've torn right through this one," he pointed to it on the image they had just taken.

"That's- it?" Leo let his head fall back despite the twinge in his neck that accompanied the movement.

"There's several degrees of separation, first degree means you've likely only sprained the ligament. Second degree means-"

"So what's wrong with him?" Raphael interrupted.

"I'm guessing you've got a severe second to third degree separation going on. So that means you're looking at roughly six weeks in a sling-"

"Six _weeks_?" Leo rasped.

"At least." Donatello's tone booked no room for argument. "The injury itself doesn't need surgery. But if you push it, you could easily end up having to sit out for six months- more if I have to try and reattach your ligament altogether. And then you would never regain your range of motion pre-separation. Does that really sound like the better option?"

Leo's face fell.

"Ouch," Mikey whispered to Raphael. None of them liked having to sit out for whatever reason. But they had to be nothing but careful when it came to injuries like these.

Donatello immediately softened, and he put a hand on his brother's uninjured shoulder. "I'm sorry Leo- I don't like it any more than you do."

They immobilized his shoulder in a sling and packed ice over the affected area, making sure to wrap the rest of him in blankets to keep his temperature steady. Donatello decided an IV would be the best method to administer painkillers. Then Splinter ordered them all out to let him get some rest. "Use the shell cell if you need anything okay? We're not leaving the lair." Donatello told him.

"M'kay," Leo stared determinedly at his sheets.

Michelangelo was the last to leave the room and looked back to see his oldest brother looking more morose than he thought he could be.

Whoa. Was it just him or did Leo look teary eyed? That was definitely a first. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"I call bullshit," Mikey grinned before sobering, "Seriously dude. Something's eating ya."

"We fall _all_ the time Mikey." Leonardo burst out, "Why today of all days? I can't even get up because of this stupid shoulder." He sniffed once and looked away quickly.

"Why's it such a big deal? I mean- besides the obvious." Mikey was surprised- despite the painkillers he'd thought Leo would be a lot more rational. _He's not invincible_, he reminded himself.

"It's stupid." Leo still refused to look him in the eye.

Michelangelo remained silent but continued to stare at him until he sighed. "I had a really cool route picked out today for patrols that's all. We would have seen some cool stuff."

"We can still go another time! The city will still be around Leo."

"Yeah. I know." Leo turned away from him again.

"I'm sorry." Mikey got up, "Get some sleep bro,"

He turned back again to see Leo staring into space, "We're all allowed to have bad days." he said, "But we've got your shell, don't forget."

* * *

"You're telling me when I punched him in the shoulder with my sai, that didn't do nothing ta cause _that_?" Raphael wasn't falling for it.

"Leo felt the shift _when_ he fell, Raph. On a clean slate, your hit would just have given him an ugly bruise." Donatello leveled his gaze with his brother. "I'm certain he'd already torn the ligament by then. If anything you saved him from doing even more damage, we all know what he's like."

"But-"

"Listen to your brother Raphael," Splinter admonished lightly from where he was brewing some strong tea. Injuries during training sessions were no longer as common as when they were first beginning, but they still wreaked havoc on his nerves.

Raphael sighed and went back to his food. "Have you notified Miss O'Neil and Mr. Jones?" Splinter asked pointedly, "They might want to be aware of this development."

"Yeah- it'll be really awkward when they get here and find Leo can barely _move_." Michelangelo broke in and let himself fall into a chair. "Anyways- guys its bad, he's actually like depressed right now. I thought the painkillers would just make him a little loopy and talk about crazy stuff."

"Well you can't blame the guy," Donatello affirmed, "He's going to have to spend the next month and a half completely dependent on us for simple tasks. Speaking of which-"

"Nuh-uh, don't even think about lookin' at me fer bath duty." Raphael crossed his arms over his chest to reinforce the concept. Michelangelo and Donatello both stared at him for several seconds until the turtle sighed noisily and relented, "Whateva."

"It's a long time Raph, we'll definitely be on a rotating schedule or something. But as for today's plan, it looks like we'll need to move things around a little."

* * *

April gasped, "He tore _what_?"

"Relax dudette," she heard Mikey's grin even on the other side of the line, "He's just under house arrest for like ever."

"Damn who was he sparrin' with? Bet it was Raph wasn't it-" Casey snickered from his end. The others winced and looked at Raphael for his answer.

"Thanks for the support Case," Raphael rolled his eyes, still determined to make it up to his oldest brother somehow.

* * *

Leonardo was pretty sure everyone had forgotten him. But he wasn't in the mood for social interaction at the moment so perhaps it was for the best. The painkillers were starting to wear off but the pain was not at the level it had been before so long as he didn't move the shoulder.

He took the opportunity to sulk a little more about the situation. He'd been so close to mastering the latest kata- he'd been working on it for weeks and had been hoping to present it to Splinter. He sighed, and winced as the simple motion tugged at his shoulder. And he hadn't been lying to Mikey, he'd planned the patrol route out a week in advance.

He'd dozed off when a knock at the door startled him back to consciousness. "I'm up," he tried to sit up straighter but had to remain awkwardly hunched over. He finally looked up at noticing the difference in gait from his brothers. "April?"

"Hey there big guy," her eyes were cheerful but concerned, "I finished my stuff so I came down early to see how things were going. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." he just wanted to keep his composure.

April snorted, "I'll bet. Don't lie to me."

Leo sighed, "I'm not a two year old April, it doesn't make sense to be upset."

"But you are," after over three years of knowing the turtles, April was no stranger to the emotions of her surrogate younger brothers. "You're under house arrest for two months- I think that's a pretty justifiable reason to be a little upset. Now how do you really feel?"

Leonardo released a shaky sigh, "Like I'm some broken toy that's just been kicked into the corner. And kind of sick because I don't think I've eaten at all today except for a little Gatorade after it happened."

"Leo! You could definitely have used your other hand to dial anyone in the lair. Everyone thought you were asleep."

"Yeah- well I just wanted to wallow for a little before having to act like I don't care." April shook her head, some things would never change.

"Things will look up soon," she squeezed his good hand sympathetically. "I'll hear from your brothers if you throw any tantrums. You _are_ a little old for those."

Leo snickered despite himself and she did a celebratory fist pump in her head at finally breaking down a barrier. She held up the box she'd brought, "I'd hoped to give you this under different circumstances, but it can't be helped. Don't open it till later." she grinned, a familiar spark in her eyes as she patted his leg and left the room.

"What? Why not now?" he looked up from his inspection of the box to find her gone.

"Wait for the opportune moment," she called back from the hall.

He didn't want to be, but he was feeling a little excited now as he turned the package around in his hands. She had always been good at disguising presents- Donatello had an annoying habit of trying to guess what was inside.

Feeling his bad mood ebb away somewhat he picked up the phone. "Leo! What's up is everything okay? No it's not- because you called. What's going on?"

"I'm fine Mikey," Leo smiled despite himself, "I kind of haven't eaten in forever- do you have anything up there?"

"Depends- Donny gave you the IV painkillers right? We're supposed to eat light with those. Are you fine with soup until I can get some real food outta here?"

"To be honest, I'd probably eat Raph's pancakes at this point."

"Hey!" Raphael's indignant squawk could be heard through the phone.

"Sorry I'm not sorry!" Leo grinned, feeling some of his energy come back.

"I'll be there in a little. Don's headed down to check up on you and the swelling and stuff."

* * *

There was definitely more than one person outside his door; he could hear them whispering loudly.

"If he's not up to it, we'll go to plan B okay guys?"

"Ichi, ni, san!"

Suddenly a mass of bright blue balloons appeared in the doorway. Leo managed to twist around to catch sight of it completely blocking the entrance. "No _way_."

"Sup Leo- whaddya think?" Casey's face popped out in between the balloons.

"All right all right let the rest of us in Jones." Raphael said impatiently.

"Well you had to show us up by countin' in freaking Japanese so I figured the best part should come first-"

Leo stared as the rest of the family streamed into the med room bearing bags of takeout and gifts, Casey and Raphael continuing their banter. "What?"

"So the plan was dinner as usual- but then things kind of took a different turn and we decided to move things up a little." Donatello briefed him on the proceedings as everyone went to work setting up several chairs and beanbags around the bed and in front of the television. Several years back while restricted by a broken ankle Michelangelo had complained of boredom so often that Donatello finally caved and had installed the screens.

"But why?"

"Mikey pointed out it's been _years_ since you watched a whole movie with us. You haven't stopped training in forever. You deserve this at least bro."

Leo was taken aback, had it really been that long? He thought back to the previous months and felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he realized he couldn't remember spending serious downtime with his brothers outside of training runs topside and the holidays.

"Here's your soup dude," Mikey grinned, digging out a container of Leonardo's favorite hot and sour soup from his bag. "It's a good thing you're awesome and left-handed."

Leonardo had completely forgotten to be grateful his dominant arm was fine.

"You forgot didn't you?" Donatello shook his head, "Does that improve your mood any?"

"Are you kidding?" Leo brandished his spoon like a spear, "I can conquer Manhattan with this."

"Good thing we didn't give him chopsticks-" Casey raised his eyebrows.

"Oh Leo- you can open the box now." April looked over.

Ordinarily he would have taken special care with the wrapping paper, but something about today had him tearing sloppily through the layers until he pulled out a familiar set. He hadn't seen it since the beginning of his awkward teenage years until it had been cancelled. "April…"

"That _is_ the series right?" April leaned forward to look at the DVDs once again.

"Raph said it was the one so you can blame 'im if it ain't." Casey added helpfully.

"Watch the noodles!" Mikey cried as Raphael wrestled the man to the floor.

"Hey take it to the dojo guys- not in the med room." Donatello stood over them looking uncannily like Master Splinter, who had excused himself quietly in anticipation of the roughhousing.

"Thanks April." Leo couldn't say much more, but April understood and squeezed his hand.

Finally the movie was in and the med room was silent for a few blessed seconds minus the sounds of eating. Leonardo looked around at the room's occupants- if it weren't for them, he would still be sulking alone. These next six weeks were not going to be easy, but so long as his brothers were there he had a feeling he would come back stronger than ever and ready to lead them with all he had.

Michelangelo had taken up residence right next to the bed and he looked up at his brother, "Happy birthday _ani_." he whispered.

"Thanks Mikey." He reached out to rub his brother's head affectionately.

Today he was nineteen. And he couldn't ask for more.

-END

**A/N: What did you think? I'd love to know- I couldn't spend as long on this as I wanted to but I hope it made you smile a little:] The title was also a little iffy- if you can think of any ideas please let me know!**

**(also fear not- I am still working on Restoring Reason. This next chapter is taking a while but I will have it up soon!)**

**-G**


End file.
